Syncing iTunes libraries between 2 computers

Does anyone know how to sync iTunes between 2 computers? I have 2 macs in my home (one with an external drive that holds all of my music). I can get both computers to see and operate from the music files in a single location but I can't seem to figure out how to have any changes to my library, playlists, etc. made on one computer to automatically show up on the other in iTunes. Does this have something to do with the iTunes library.itl file?
If so, do I have to copy the iTunes library.itl file from the computer on which I have made the most recent changes and then delete this file from the other computer and drop the recently modified iTunes library.itl file into the music folder on the unmodified computer? Will this effectively sync both libraries? If so, is there a program that will automatically schedule this procedure for me. I am in the process of sorting through 5000+ duplicates (fun, I know) and I don't want to do it twice.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris

Thanks guys. The shared music works fine but as noted in the second response, playlists, etc. are not available on both computers at the same time. I like jase's suggestion, but since I will only need to copy one iTunes library file & paste over another to keep both libraries in sync, I think that will be the way to go. I will give the alias library file a whirl because that may work fine since both computers can make changes. I do not have the concern of both computers using the files at the same time. Only one computer will every use it. My mac mini core duo is in with my theater rack stuff. Everything is played from there. My iMac G5 is at my desk. I just need them in sync because it is infinately easier to make changes sitting at a desk than it is with a keyboard and mouse on my lap on a couch from 15 feet away from the screen.
Thanks for the feedback.
Chris
P.S. - Has anyone heard of the bluetooth trackball called "The Ball" from Chwang Yi? I want to buy it, and the website claims to sell it - I just can't seem to find a single link leading to a purchase page of any kind. Any thoughts?

Similar Messages

Auto Sync iTunes Libraries between Macbook and Mac Mini?

I download and store all of my music on my Mac book. But I would like to know if it is possible to make it so that, if I add 3 songs to my macbook, my Mac Mini will reflect the same changes, and vice versa. Kind of like what Mobile Me does with iCal and Contacts.
So If I add a song on my Macbook, my home network would transfer the song to my Mac Mini and update the iTunes library?
And I'd rather not use an external network drive to keep my library on, because I need my music physically on my Macbook.
Is this possible?
Thanks in advance.

There are a few utilities specifically designed to help you sync iTunes across different computers. You could begin your research by having a look at these for instance:
TuneRanger
SuperSync
syncOtunes

How to sync itunes libraries between two to MacBook pros?

I there an easy and efficient way to keep my music in sync between any two apple machines, I.e. iMac and MBP?

Home Sharing can help.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3819
A how-to tutorial:
http://www.ehow.com/how_8617573_sync-library-between-mac-pc.html

Sync itunes library between macs

hello guys, i had a macbookpro for 2 years and i just bought a new i mac for home use and an airport extreme (new version with hard disk connection capabilities), and i did that for a reason. well my mbpro is packed with music and videos and i would like to remove them from this library. so the question that pops out: is there anyway to sync an itunes library to another one on the network or on airport extreme and put only may favorite and/or recently added, recently played content.

I have the same question, and can't seem to find an answer. I have 3 Mac computers - iMac, Macbook and Macbook Pro (yes I'm addicted to Apple products) and an iPhone. They are all on my networked via a 1TB Time Machine and I can "share" the iTunes libraries between the machines, but I would love to get every tune, app, and video on all the machines so the libraries are identical and they can all sync with my iPhone. Apparently, you can't use the "shared" libraries on the machine used to sync your iPhone. I've read one post (about a year old) about editing Hex and XML and the like, but that's too complicated for my skills. I'm trying to figure out why Apple would hamper their very best customers (and may I add, stockholder) by not allowing a single user of multiple computers to sync everything up. Its like the more money you spend on apple stuff, the more complicated your life gets - that just ain't right!

Syncing iTunes Library between multiple user accounts

Is it possible for iTunes to automatically sync music libraries between two user accounts on Windows XP?

If I understand your question correctly , you can have identical libraries (contents, playlists and all) if you set each user's account to reference the same .itl file.
Have a look at this article in the Apple Knowledge Base for details on how to do so.
By using the Choose Library option and linking the accounts to the same .itl file, the libraries will be the same and changes made to one will be reflected in the others.
Post back if you need any further details.

Share iTunes libraries between Windows and MAC

Hi all i've an wifi via "Base AirPort" i've an HD shared between MAC and Windows sistem via the BASE, the iTunes library that i've stored in the HD is non redable for iTunes on Windows because it need an *.itl file...
How can i share an iTunes library between Windows and MAC???

I would like to report back that after struggling for months to get Tune Ranger to work that it is complete rubbish. The first time I tried to sync my libraries (between an empty iTunes library and my existing one) it created duplicates all over the place in my library and generally made a huge mess of everything. The support person (who I suspect is the only person over there) gave me some guff about my id3 tags being corrupt but it was clear that every song that appeared in a playlist was getting duped. Once I fixed this (many weeks later) I tried a one way sync after fiddling with the preferences of Tune Ranger to try to make it work, but it simply wouldn't.
I don't know if anyway has had success using TR where they are also trying to sync playlists, but if you have, I would certainly like to know what you settings are.

Sync itunes library between 3 computer

i have three computers connected to a home wifi network... a vista desktop, vista laptop and a macbook.
now, on all the 3 machines i use itunes to listen to and organize my music. i randomly download music from either of the machines and so does my bro. i would like to sync the 3 itunes libraries over wifi so that each machine has the same music collection as the other.
manually keeping tack and managing the music is tedious. any suggestions?
Neerav

There are a few utilities that can help you sync iTunes across different computers. You could begin your research by having a look at these two for instance:
TuneRanger
syncOtunes

Trying to share iTunes libraries between two users on one iMac

Ok, so I have two users on my iMac, but I want to share iTunes libraries between the two (so that both have the same music, movies, apps...), but for some reason I can't! So first I tried turning on iTunes while holding option key so that I can open my Library from my user that i'm trying to grab the music and everything else from. But for some reason it said that I didn't have the permissions to (which both ARE admin). So then I went to the Preferences on iTunes and tried to change the directories from where to grab the media from, but it wouldn't let me access my other users music folder, it siad again that I didn't have permissions for this. I'm really fed up, please help me.

Chris, thanks for the reply. Are you telling me that I should move the iTunes folder itself, and not merely the iTunes Media folder, as instructed by the KB article? At this point, I'd be willing to try just about anything, but the KB article specifically states:
Important: Do not move the iTunes folder, the iTunes Library file or the iTunes Library.xml file.
As I stated above, I did exactly what the KB article said to, which is to move the iTunes Media folder (called iTunes Music on my iMac, since the library has been around since pre-iTunes 8 or so) to /Users/Shared, and then go into iTunes Prefs for each user, and under the advanced tab, choose the location of the library for each user. I know that this method does NOT share iTunes library (.itl or .xml, or the other associated files), and doing what you suggest would, but I'm curious if that would cause any problems.
And yes, like I said in the OP, I did check/change all file permissions on that folder appropriately.
Thanks again for the help! Please let me know if I'm reading your suggestion right!

Can you share iTunes libraries between iPad and iPhone?

I know how to share libraries between my MacBook or iMac and my iPad and/or my iPhone. My question is, can you share your iTunes libraries between your iPad and iPhone only, without using a computer? I wanted to share movies between my iPhone and iPad in Europe over wi fi so I could take more on two devices. Does iCloud support videos?

There are no iTunes libraries on the iPad or iPhone. You have iTunes content on the devices but not libraries. The content is stored in the respective apps as you well know. AFAIK there is no way to share the content from one device to the other using any iOS feature in the current sysetm.
This something that may appeal to you. The GoFlex Satellite Wireless Hard Drvie.
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/external-hard-drive/goflex-sa tellite/?cmpid=ppc-_-satellite-_-g-_-us-_-goflex_for_ipad-_-b&gclid=CL6K8-fkiasC FeZ05Qod6VLm3g
You don't need a computer (other than to set this hard drive and and transfer the content), but it is one more device that you have to lug around with you.

Will the new iCloud feature sync Aperture libraries between different computers?

If there was a Cloud section in the forums i would post this there but there isn't so here it is. Syncing my Aperture libraries between my laptop and imac is a big problem for me right now. Does anyone know if the new Cloud air synching feature coming this fall will sync photos between aperture libraries on multiple computers?

There is now an iCloud community iCloud
But I believe the answer to this question is no, iCloud is not meant to do this type of syncing.

How can I sync music libraries between our 3 MacBooks

How can I sync the iTunes music libraries between our 3 MacBooks?

Whenever you update one iTunes Library be sure to copy it to the other two computers. It goes in the /Home/Music/ folder. You can probably does this easily over your local network using File Sharing.
Copy the most recently changed iTunes Library folder to a USB flash drive. Use the flash drive to copy that library onto the other two computers.
Use a backup/sync utility to update each computer over your local network.

Syncing itunes on multiple computers / devices

Not really a question, more like a suggestion for itunes developers.
I have iTunes on PC and iMac computers, and use an iPhone and iPad. I would like to have one itunes library that all the computers and devices see. This doesn't seem to be possible because the itunes lib is computer-specific == that is, the itunes on my PC is not aware of the itunes on my iMac (and don't get me started on AppleTV!!)
Now perhaps this is a DRM issue, and music publishers won't allow the sharing. Maybe. It's just frustrating that I can't modify a playlist or whatever and have it show up everywhere, regardless of where the change was made. Perhaps the answer is to lose the iMac and only do itunes on PCs? Would syncing multiple computers work if they were all PCs?
Apple has a reputation that everything just works. Sadly that doesn't seem to be as universal as it may once have been, but then it was just a reputation after all. If there's a way to make this just work that I haven't figured out yet, I'm eager to learn it. Bottom line is, I would like to have an iTunes library that can be displayed on any device I want, that can be modified from any device, and will appear the same on any device. Is such a thing possible?
Thanks for letting me vent.

Hello,
You can share your iTunes library between machines and devices when connected to your local network. Additionally, iTunes Match is a service which allows you to store your Music "in the cloud" and access it remotely.

Best way to sync iTunes on 2 computers?

Hi
Can anyone suggest the best way to sync iTunes between 3 macs Mac Pro & 2 Macbook pros.
I edit and rate the music on the desktop so it's not as much about the mp3 files as much as it is not having to reinput the metadata 3x.
Also the iTunes folder on the desktop is on a secondary drive not the HOME folder.
When I DJ on Traktor it looks for the location of the mp3 files and if they are listed as being on another drive then it can't find them.
I used iTunes Ranger about 5 years ago and although it was slow it worked fairly well across 3 DESKTOPS but their website only lists up to Mac OSX 10.6.
Thanks in advance
Enio

I found this on Tuneranger page even though the site for the app creator seems dead
Q: The ratings, playcounts, etc. from my iPod won't copy over to my iTunes when using TuneRanger.
A: TuneRanger only supports syncing of iTunes metadata (tags not part of the music files such as ratings, playcount, etc) when doing an iTunes to iTunes sync over a network. We don't support syncing metadata to/from the iPod. All the tag info embedded in the files is transferred but those fields proprietary to iTunes are not.
Does anyone know how to sync BPM and Comments when iCloud is NOT an option? (I don't have internet when I am dj'ing nor would I want to depend on access from the server in a pro situation)

Syncing two libraries - two computers

I want to keep mirror image libraries between two computers so when I digitize something on one I can update the other one which is on my wife's computer. I've been doing a very cumbersome way by going into the folder and dragging it to the other computer folder and importing from there.
Isn't there an easier way?

I want to keep mirror image libraries between two computers so when I digitize something on one I can update the other one which is on my wife's computer. I've been doing a very cumbersome way by going into the folder and dragging it to the other computer folder and importing from there.
Isn't there an easier way?

How to sync two iTunes libraries between two Macs?

I have two macs (Mavericks) plus the latest version of iTunes. What I want to do is to mirror any change I do on one library to the other iTunes library using Google Drive (iTunes Library Mac 1 to iTunes Library Mac 2 and vice versa).
I installed Google Drive on both of my Macs. It works pretty well at mirroring changes in .mp3 files names changes I do (i.e. My_Song.mp3 to MY_SONG.mp3), new files I add or files I delete...
But there are two things I can't sync right now. Playlists and files info attributes (i.e. when I change the soundtrack Genre of one of my soundtrack it doesn't sync with the same soundtrack on my other mac).
I know I can export+import playlist but I don't know how to actually sync playlists using Google Drive. iTunes has a special way of "storing" playlists. What I want is, for example, I create/modify a playlist on my Mac1 and it sync to Mac2 via Google sync.
So, how can I make my playlists + any changes I make on my soundtracks (not the mp3 files) sync between my Macs using Google Drive?
Thank you.

Periodic posts on people wanting to do something like this and no good answer.
All that information is in the library files.
What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management
What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
Apple's attempt at doing this is Home Sharing but that's more of a track by track basis, not the whole library. The only way you will get it to automatically "sync" is to share a common set of library files with both computers (note, only one computer can open a library file at a time).

Syncing iTunes libraries between 2 computers

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for